Handheld electronic image capture devices such as digital cameras, when used in low light conditions, often require an amount of capture time that approaches, or exceeds, the limited time that a user is capable of holding the device without an appreciable amount of shaking. Many experienced photographers use as a rule of thumb, that if the shutter speed is slower than 1/fl (where fl is the focal length of the lens) in 35 mm cameras, the image capture device should not be handheld, but mechanically supported to reduce or eliminate the shaking. However, many novice photographers are not familiar with this rule of thumb and continue to handhold their electronic image capture devices even in situations where the shutter speed is too long for a handheld capture.
Also, not all users are equally steady. For example, people shivering in the cold are less able to hold an image capture device steady than a professional photographer in warm, calm weather familiar with methods of gripping and using the image capture device to minimize shake. The very young and the very elderly may not have the strength required to hold an image capture device steady through a long exposure, and in fact, may not realize that they are not holding the image capture device steady.